Mercedes-Benz Has the Most Satisfied Customers in the Premium Segment

- Mercedes-Benz brand scores highest among the premium brands for the service satisfaction factor, in the J.D. Power and Associates VOSS study for Germany- Mercedes-Benz customer satisfaction initiative pays off

Stuttgart, Germany, Jul 30, 2009 – Mercedes-Benz has the most satisfied customers in the premium segment: In the Service Satisfaction category of the latest J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Germany VOSS Study, the brand with the star ranks highest among the premium brands. The J.D. Power survey evaluates overall vehicle ownership satisfaction in the categories of Vehicle Quality, Vehicle Appeal, Vehicle Ownership Costs and Service Satisfaction. This year’s survey polled 16,283 drivers in Germany online with regard to aspects such as service consultant friendliness, service facility conditions, and the thoroughness of work performed. Across all assessment categories for service satisfaction, Mercedes-Benz performed well above the industry average. Mercedes-Benz finished fourth in the overall industry ranking of the J.D. Power survey’s service satisfaction factor.

“We’re very pleased with our good performance in this informative study,” says Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars. “The result shows us that customers really appreciate the commitment our people bring to the job every day, as well as our staff’s ongoing enthusiasm for the Mercedes-Benz brand and our long term-oriented quality concept.”

The good performance of the Mercedes-Benz service team in Germany had been confirmed last year by no less than four service center tests, with the brand receiving top marks in the tests conducted by the AUTO BILD and AUTOZEITUNG newspapers, the ADAC automobile club, and the magazine auto, motor und sport.

Three years ago Mercedes-Benz launched a program to boost customer satisfaction with its sales and service. This program, which has since been implemented worldwide, consists of activities and projects that address direct customer contact management and process and system optimization. Mercedes-Benz is also improving its service performance through intensive, continual and long-term training measures, with some 150,000 service employees having already participated in training programs to date. This effort has paid off, as customer satisfaction with Mercedes-Benz service has improved significantly in nearly all markets since the program was launched.

In addition to its great performance in the service satisfaction factor of the study the brand with the star also performed outstandingly in the vehicle quality satisfaction factor. The survey showed that drivers of the Mercedes-Benz CLK model are more satisfied with their vehicles than owners of any other Sports Car in the study. Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class from the 211 series ranks highest in the Executive/Luxury Car segment.

Customers know best, which is why J. D. Power and Associates, which was founded in 1968, has been regularly assessing automobile owner satisfaction. The company operates around the globe and has its headquarters in Los Angeles. The participants in J. D. Power’s 2009 study were required to have driven their vehicles for around two years and clocked approximately 30,000 kilometers. The resulting report was therefore able to utilize data based on nearly 500 million kilometers of driving. A total of 1 13 models, divided into eight segments, were assessed in the 2009 report from J. D. Power, whose survey results are known to help consumers make purchasing decisions.